Irish Rugby Football Union ( English Irish Rugby Football Union , abbreviated as IRFU; Irl. Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann ) - an organization that administers rugby in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . It was founded in 1879, and in 1886, along with the Welsh and Scottish Rugby Unions, became one of the founders of the International Rugby Council . It consists of four unions, each of which represents one of the historical provinces of Ireland - Connacht , Lenster , Munster and Ulster . The headquarters of the organization is located in Dublin .
| Irish Rugby Union | |
|---|---|
| English Irish Rugby Football Union Irl. Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann | |
 | |
| Joining the RBI | 1886 (founder) |
| Joining Rugby Europe | 1999 |
| Executives | |
| Cartridge |  Michael Higgins |
| The president |  Stephen hilditch |
| Team Head Coaches | |
| Men's Rugby |  Joe Schmidt |
| Women's Rugby | Tom Tierney |
| Men's Rugby 7 |  Anthony Eddy |
| Base | |
| 1879 | |
| www.irishrugby.ie | |
Content
History
The Irish Rugby Union was created in 1879 by the merger of the Irish Football Union (led the clubs of Lenster, Manster and part of Ulster) and the Northern Football Union (led the clubs from Belfast and its environs). One of the conditions of this association was the creation of three provincial unions in Lenster, Manster and Ulster, and by 1885 there were 26 clubs in them. In the fourth province, Connaught, its union was created in 1886 [1] .
In 1886, in Dublin, at a meeting of the rugby unions of the Home Nations, it was proposed to create a supranational body that would take on the development and addition of rugby rules. The English Rugby Union opposed and the decision was adjourned. Later that year, a second meeting was held in Manchester , at which the International Council (now World Rugby ) was created, representatives from England were not present at this meeting [2] .
99 years later, the International Rugby Council, by that time already a world organization, held its next meeting in Paris. At it, council members (unions of the four Home Nations, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) had to decide on the creation of the Rugby World Cup . The nations voted “for” by a majority of 6 against 2. Only the unions of Ireland and Scotland opposed the creation of the tournament, which believed that the world championship would threaten the amateur status of rugby [3] .
After 20 years, on August 26, 1995, the IRB lifted all restrictions on wages in rugby, and this sport became professional. Rugby in Ireland was not prepared for such a change, and over the next few years many amateur rugby players ended up playing sports [4] . To meet the new realities, the Irish Rugby Union had to rebuild the entire club system. Based on the provincial teams that used to meet several times a year for matches with each other or foreign teams, four professional clubs were created - Connacht , Lenster , Munster and Ulster . Clubs belong to the union, and players enter into contracts with it, after which they are distributed among the clubs. Thus, all the financial flows of Irish rugby in the professional era are concentrated in the hands of the rugby union [5] . In 2001, Irish professional clubs joined the Scottish and Welsh and form the Celtic League .
Activities
National Teams
Rugby 15 :
| Rugby 7
|
Clubs and Competitions
The Irish Rugby Union owns all four professional Rugby clubs in Ireland (Connaught, Lenster, Munster, Ulster). In addition, the union holds a number of amateur competitions. The main ones are the All-Ireland League Championship , in which 50 clubs participate, distributed in 5 divisions, and the All-Ireland Cup. There are also championships and provincial cups [6] . In 2015, 168 thousand people were involved in adult rugby in Ireland. In the same year, 137 rugby competitions were held, in which 1301 youth teams took part. Among the educational institutions, 81 tournaments were played for more than a thousand teams [7] .
Stadiums
The Irish Rugby Union also manages rugby and multi-sports stadiums throughout the island.
| The largest stadiums owned by the Irish Rugby Union | |||||||||
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See also
- Ireland Rugby Team
- Pro12
Notes
- ↑ History of the Irish Rugby Football Union . Irish Rugby Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ History of the Laws of Rugby Football . RugbyFootballHistory.com . Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ How the RWC started . RugbyFootballHistory.com . Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ Conor Neville. The Irish Team Who Played First Ever Professional Game - Where Are They Now? (eng.) . Balls.ie (10 August 2016). Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ V. Hogan, P. Massey, S. Massey. Late Conversion: The Impact of Professionalism on European Rugby Union . UCD Center for Economic Research P. 13-14 (September 2011). Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ Regulations of the Irish Rugby Football Union . Irish Rugby Date of treatment October 17, 2016.
- ↑ Irish Rugby Football Union Annual Report 2015/2016 . Irish Rugby Date of treatment October 17, 2016.